WATER, COFFEE, & MONEY
Gucci Mane is far from recognizable. He may not be the same artist that sang the 2006 album ‘Hard to Kill’, or the opening line of ‘Make No Sense’ in the YoungBoy Never Broke Again champions…but it’s a good thing.
Gucci Mane had been heavily using weed, ecstasy, prescription pills, and lean for years. During an interview in 2016 with New York Times, he admitted to struggling with drug addiction. “I felt like I couldn’t make music sober, I couldn’t enjoy my money sober. Why would I wanna go to a club and couldn’t smoke or drink? I felt like sex wouldn’t be good sober. I associated everything with being high.”
He believes that the lifestyle would have ended him.
“Lean f—ked me up mentally, physically, professionally... all facets of life.”
In 2014, Gucci Mane was arrested for the possession of firearm by a convicted felon. He stated that he would be going to rehab while incarcerated on his gun charge.
After Gucci Mane returned from prison in 2016, he was unrecognizable to most of his fans: they wondered if he had been “cloned”. He not only lost 100 pounds, but also started a streak of sobriety.
His radical transformation was shocking.
His new autobiography, The Autobiography of Gucci Mane, became stunningly popular. His new mindset and character was “fueled by his cold turkey sobriety”.
“If you keep lookin' back, you gon' trip going forward. I remembered that as low as my lows had gotten, I always had faith in myself. That I always knew if I could get past those temporary moments, eventually I'd be up again.”
-Gucci Mane
He states that he is on a strict diet: water, coffee, and money. Gucci claims that the fall of 2017 marked 4 years of his sobriety.
His journey and improved decisions are impressive and motivational. If he can do it, so can others struggling with a similar lifestyle.
Sources: Sober Rappers, Hip Hop DX, Money, Goodreads